Dennis will share his adventures and misadventures while
writing The Living Great Lakes: Searching
for the Heart of the Inland Seas and will discuss the impact of the lakes
on the lives of those of us who live near them. He’ll also talk about the
challenges facing the lakes and some of the steps being taken to meet them.
Michigan News Agency will sell copies of The Living Great Lakes at the event.
Admission is free.

Dennis will also be hosting A Conversation About the Craft
and Business of Writing program at Davenport
University (4123 W. Main St.) on Wednesday, March 4 at 2 pm. He will speak
about his career as a writer and offer tips to aspiring authors.

This Meet the Author event kicks off the start of this
year’s Reading Together Program. A detailed list of programming and events may
be found at www.readingtogether.us.

The Living Great Lakes
is the most complete book ever written about the history, nature and science of
these remarkable lakes at the heart of North America. From the geological
forces that formed them to the industrial atrocities that nearly destroyed them,
to the greatest environmental success stories of our time, the lakes are
portrayed in all their complexity. The book, however, is much more than just
history. It is also the story of the lakes as told by biologists, fishermen,
sailors, and others whom the author grew to know while traveling with them on
boats and hiking with them on beaches and islands.

The book is also a personal journey. It is the narrative of
a six-week voyage through the lakes and beyond as a crewmember on a tallmasted schooner,
and a memoir of a lifetime spent on and near the lakes. Through storms and fog,
on remote shores and city waterfronts, the author explores the five Great Lakes
in all seasons and mods and discovers that they and their connecting
waters—including the Erie Canal, the Hudson River, and the East Coast from New
York to Maine—offer a surprising and bountiful view of America. The result is a
mediation on nature and our place in the world, a discussion and cautionary
tale about the future of water resources, and a celebration of a place that is
both fragile and robust, diverse, rich in history and wildlife, often
misunderstood, and worthy of our attention.

In the nearly 30 years that Jerry Dennis has earned his
living as a freelance writer, he has emerged as one of America’s most
celebrated writers about nature and the outdoors. His essays in such
publications as Audubon, Smithsonian, Orion, and The New York Times
have won many awards and are frequently reprinted and anthologized. His eleven
books, including The Living Great Lakes,
have appeared on national bestseller lists, been translated into five
languages, and are taught in many universities and high schools. Among Jerry’s
awards are the Michigan Author of the Year Award, the Sigurd Olson Nature
Writing Award, Michigan State University’s Great Lakes Culture Award, and four
Best Book of the Year awards from the Outdoor Writers Association of America. Jerry lives with his wife Gail, near Traverse City, MI.

About Reading
Together

The purpose of Reading Together is to build a stronger
community with deeper connections through the common experience of reading the
same book and exploring it’s themes together. When we do that, we engage and
learn, no only about ourselves, but more importantly about each other and the
world around us.

Kalamazoo Public Library leads Reading Together with the
help of many visionary partners. We draw on a diverse cross-section of
individuals and organizations to create a season of programs that highlight
important and relevant themes of the selected book. Our partners craft
opportunities to connect with the book and its themes. A variety of talented
experts freely share personal history, skills and other resources to that
friends, families and other community members may share the experience and
benefits of reading and discussing the same book.